Summer - which ultimately means nothing is going on in the hockey world.  Unless you’re Ilya Kovalchuk, and in that case, you just made $102 million and lost it all in a matter of hours.

It also means clinging to any ounce of hockey news…and sadly, this is my hockey news…

If you’re a Ducks fan, you are wondering when the team is going to add a defenseman of value, find the middle ground with Bobby Ryan and his contract, or you’re hoping to win big bucks on the “Teemu Selanne will he/wont he?” pool running through your circle of friends. 

If you are this Ducks fan, you’ve just returned home from a lovely weekend vacation.  Four days, three nights on the Carnival Paradise.  A great trip to Ensenada Mexico with 3,000 strangers, too much great food, oh, and 50 of your cross-town rival’s fans.

That’s right, only I would end up on the Kings fan cruise.

It wasn’t something that I bumped into half way through the weekend.  No, 20 minutes on board the ship, while getting lunch up on the Lido Deck, I turned to see about five Kings staff workers decked out in various polo shirts and lanyards.  I knew right away what was in store for the remainder of the weekend.

It didn’t help that I had my Ducks bag over my shoulder.  They knew I was the enemy right away.

Occasionally I would find myself behind a purple shirt in line for dinner.  I even found myself in the midst of one of their on board events while reading on the Promenade Deck.

I left before they pelted me with anything they could grab.

I didn’t recognize, bump into, or see any of their players on board, but I passed enough black and silver jerseys to be reminded all weekend.  Even Bailey was terrorizing guests, or maybe he was just bumping fists with Kings fans, I couldn’t tell the difference. 

Ironically, I was hassled more by the US Immigration officers on the way off the ship than I was by the fans themselves.

The first officer who was checking our passports made a mention when he saw my sweatshirt.  ”Do you know what cruise you were just on?”  I should have known he was going to make a mention, the very Kings staffers that I bumped into on the first afternoon were ahead of me in line while going through customs.

Apparently the same officer recognized Davis Drewiske as he came through his line at customs.  When he asked him what he did for a living, Drewiske replied, “I’m a geologist.” 

Liar. 

The last officer we encountered asked me if was hassled for being a Ducks fan while on the cruise.  He assumed I was confused, stating that I needed better taste in hockey.  I told him that I was perfectly fine with my choice.

He “quacked” at me as I walked away. 

Overall, it made for an ironic vacation, but a fun one all at the same time. 

OH!  I did take a picture in front of one of their event signs on the ship.  I don’t think I should post it here though, one of my “fingers” was in the way!